Blast-furnace-charging apparatus.



G. R. JOHNSON. BLAST FURNACE CHARGING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 1, 1906.

PATENTED MAYV, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 853,016. PATENTED MAY '7, 1907.

G. R. JOHNSON.

BLAST FURNACE CHARGING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED 09121, 1906.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' GUY-R. JOHNSON, or CLARKSVILLE, 'rENN ssE:

BLAST-FURNAQE-QHARGING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 7, 1907.

Application filed October -1, 1906. Serial No. 387,038.

ToaZl whom, it may concern:

.Be it known that I, GUY R. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Olarksville, in the county of Montgomery and State of Tennessee, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Blast-Furnace- Charging Apparatus, of whichthe following 1s a specification. I

This invention relates to what Ishall for convenience designate a blast furnace charging apparatus. The device, however, may be used in ways other than for supplying a stock to'blast furnaces.

The primary object of the invention is to rovide an apparatus of the character set forth which can supply a charge to a desired part of a furnace, which is simple in construction, effective in o eration and which can be however, may be a mysaid claims.

ineX ensively me e.

T e device includes other objects and advantages which with the foregoin will be set forth at length in, the following escription, while the novelty of said invention will be included in the claims succeeding said description.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification I re resent in detail one form of embodiment of t e invention which to enable those skilled in the artv to practice said invention will be described in detail in said descri tion. Manyvariations,

Referring to said drawings, Figure 1" is a sectional elevation of a device including my inventionand showing the samein connec tion-with a blast furnace@ Fig. 2 is a seei tional to plan view of a gear,- standards and rounded by the .masonry of the furnace certain evices associated therewith. Fig. 3

is a sectional detail hereinafter more particularly described, and Fig. 4 is a modified formf of su port for said gear.

Li e characters refer to like parts throughout the several figures;

In Fig. 1 of the drawings I have shown the u per end of a blast furnace of familiar form,:

t e same being denoted in a general way by 2. I have represented asembedded in or surbrackcts as 3 to which is bolted or otherwise suitably fastened a plate as 4. This plate 4 is illustrated as having a central opening, the

center of which is'intersected by the longitudinalor vertical axis of the furnace 2 and.

through this opening a charging. spout as 5 ring 11 bolte opted Within the scope of:

similar length an proximately with that of the spout. In lonpasses, said charging spout being in the present instance revoluble and being preferably of tubular and longitudinally curved form.

The plate 4 constitutes'a suitable supportfor the charging spout or tube 5, although the 'latter'is not directly carried. by the, former. Bolted or otherwise suitably fastened to the plate are several standardsor bearings as 6 which sustain balls or other rollers as 7 which fit a raceway in the bead 8 pendent. from the annular gear 9 which forms the top of the charging spout 5. The longitudinal or vertical axis of the furnace 2 passes through the center of this gear 9. I provide, therefore, an antifriction support for the charging spout. Instead of using the type of support just described I mayprovide on the plate 4, uprights as 6 carrying rollers as 7 on which the said gear 9 may rest as shown in Fig. 4. I represent exteriorly of the spout 5 between the gear 9 and the plate 4 an annular flange 10 of angular form in cross section. The vertical portion of this flange 10 has a movement in a circular roove in the upper side of the (I or otherwise suitably fastened to thetop of the plate 4 and surrounding the central opening of said plate. The flange 10 and ring'll present a gas seal and I p efer to keep the groove or channel in the rin constantly lubricated by means of or inary com ression grease on s. j

T e revoluble charging s out 5 is provided with an upper ,valve 12 an a lower valve 13. The lower valve is represented as consisting of a dropedown gate hinged or otherwise suitably jointed to the lower end of the spout ex-. ter'ior thereof. The body of this valve or etc 18 is of inwardly tapered or conical orm in order that it v,may be tightly fitted within the mouth or delivery end of the spout. This lowergate or valve acts to cffectively close the lower end of the spout. 1

'Upon the exterior of this spout and disposed in parallelismwith each other 'I mount two pipes 14. Thesepipes are )fsubstantially their length agrees apgitudinal shape the pipes conform to the spout. These pipes receive for longitudinal movement chalns as 15. I use the term chains in a generic sense to include not only structures so known, but equivalent devices such as cables. terms employed by me are used in their bread senses. The lower ends of these In fact the various IIO this occurs the bar 19 and necessarily the chains are connected suitablyto the valve, gate or door 13, while they pass between their ends around guide pulleys as ltl sustained by standards as 17- rising from and suitably'fastened to the gear or other driven,

chains 15 are drawn upward to close the gate or door 13. I When the gate or door is closed the spout .or tube 5 can be chalged with stock. The spout or tube may be of any desira-ble capacity. charged with the necessary stock, which may be coke, oi limestone, etc, said spout may, as will hereinafter appear, be revolved in order that the delivery end of the latter may be brought to the desired place at which said stock is to be supplied, following which the gate or door 13 will be opened to release the mass of material in the spout, so that such material can gravitate into the furnace .ex-

. actl at the required place.

T e gear 9 may be rotated in any desirable Wa I have shownmeans for this purpose inc uding the pinion 20, the teeth of which are in mesh with said'gear 9 and the shaft of which is suitably supported by a bearing on the plate 4 and may be equipped at its lower end with a bevel gear as 21, the teeth of. which mesh with the teeth of the cooperating bevel gear 22 on the suitably driven shaft. 23. When, therefore, the shaft 23 is operated the spout 5 may, tl'llOllgll'thdlIk telmediate cohnecti'o'ns,'be revolved. v

The upper or outer open end of the spout 5 as previously indicated is closed by a valve as 12, which in thepresent instance consists ofoa cap of dished disk form and which may be suspended from a lever or other suitable carrier as 24. From the inner end of this lever24 is suspended a stem as 25 having a sleeve 25 swiveled to its lower end to which are jointed several links as 26 similarly connected at their lower ends with the valve or cap 12. a This cap is practically used solely'a's a gas seal for the upper end of the spout 5 when the gate or door 13 is opened. I

In addition to theeylinder 18 I show a second cylinder'a s 27, thepiston rod ofiwhich "is illustrated as connected at its upper end to the-lever 24 between the ends of the latter.

The purpose of the cylinder 27 is to cause the operation of thelever 24 in a direction to move the-seal or cap 12into position to v (3 in place.

When the spout 5 is close the upper opening of the tube or spout 5, and. it may be also utilized for the purpose of uncovering said opening ortor returning said seal to its elevated position. i

In order to prevent possibility of the device being dislodged when slips occur]: may provide oli as 28 which may be held in position to the plate i by the belts or equivalent lastenings which hold the standards The upper ends of these clips overlie but do not normally engage the head or gear 9. ll there were an. engagement between these two parts there "would be unnecessary friction sol prefer to slightly separate the same. Should, however, a sli occur and the spout-.5 and gear ll'bo elevated the will strike against the clips '38 which will prevent the two parts and the other parts associated tluzrewith from being blown from place.

, In operation the steel: is brought to the top of the furnace in any desirable way and dumped directly into the spout 5, the cap 12 at this time being up or open and the gate or door 13 being shut. "\Vhen lhedesircd amount of material has been delivered. into the spout :3 the seal or cap 12 is lowered to cover or close the upper opening of said spout Then this takes place lhe spoutis revolved to the desired degree, at which time the gate or door-13 is opened to release the stock therein which drops to the required place. The door 13 is then closed, following which the cap or seal 12 is li'l'ted to permit the delivery of a 'l'urijacr charge into the spout 5.

I provide a device which takes the place of the well known bell and hopper usually utilized, for charging blast furnaces. The old device for obtah'iiug the resultin question is heavy and cru'nfborsome and the using oi the same breaks up badly the fuel employed lOO With the old apparatus dilliculty is experienced. in making repairs, and time is required in making the same and frequently the distribution of the stock is not what it should be; m My apparatus wholly err-o ms the di icultics mentioned and l amenabled to distribute stock with uniformity,'preciseness andat exactly they requisite places.

As previously set forth, the capacity of the. spout 5 is not essential, nor is it necessary to charge this spout in any particula One simple mode of pplyiug the spo n'iaterial is by ships, one of which is shown in the drawings and is designated by 5. l ordinarily make said spoilt internally of a e" to accommodate slightly more than one skip load of stock.

What l. claim is: '0

1. The combination of ;,a blast furnace, a revoluble spout extending into said; blast 'lur naee, a valve hinged to the lower end of the spou t, chains connected with tliavalve p'pes carried by the spout through which llaid chains extend, means for olpoimii ing ithe chains in a direction to close said valve to cause it' to support a mass in. the spout, said valve when opened serving to release said mass, and a second valve supported independently of the spent and closable against the upper end thereof above the mass therein and to constitute a seal for said spout.

3. The combination of a blast furnace, a revoluble spout extending into said blast furnace, avalve mounted at the lower end of the spout, connecting means extending from the valve to a point exterior of the furnace, and means acting against said eonnectingmeans at a place outside of the furnace for holding the valve closed.

3. The combination of a blast furnace, a revoluble spout extending into said blast furnace, a valve mounted at the lowerend of the spout, chains connected with the valve, means acting against the chains outside the spent to hold the valve closed, and a second valve operable between the chains to close the spent, a charge oi material being contained within the spout between the valves.

4. The combination of a blast furnace, a revoluble charging spout extending thereinto, a drop-down valve hinged to the spout, means connected with the valve and extending therefrom to a point outside the furnace, and mechanism for acting against said means to hold said valve closed or to release the same.

5. The combination of a blast furnace, a revoluble charging spout extendmg thereinto, a drop-down valve hinged to the spent 5 in the furnace, chains connected with the valve and extending therefrom to a point outside the furnace, means acting against said chains to hold. the valves closed or to release the same, and a dished valve supported be- 40 tween the chains and mounted to move against 1 the outer end of the spout to close the same.

6. The combination of a blast furnace, a revoluble charging spout extending into said furnace, a drop-down valve hinged to said 45 spou within the furnace, and means dispos d extcriorlv oi the furnace for controlling the operation oi said valve.

7. The combination of a blast furnace, a rcvoluble charging spout extending into the 50 blast furnace and for containing material to charge the same, and means operable at will for retaining the material in .the spout or for discharging the same, the revolution of the spout serving to effect the supply of the ma- 5; terial at diilerent points.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GUY it. JOHNSON.

\Vitnesses:

G. MACFARLANE, CLARA HOLMAN. 

